


Try Not to Feel the Cold

by MollyPollyKinz



Series: All the Kings Men [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom
Genre: Child Abuse, Evil dream, Exile, Gen, Ghostbur, Ghostbur is trying his best, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Manipulation, Past Villian Wilbur Soot, Tommy is sick of being lied to, Tommyinnit has PTSD, Touch-Starved, Vilbur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28016646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyPollyKinz/pseuds/MollyPollyKinz
Summary: Tommy felt so stupid. How could he fall for Dream’s lies so easily? How did he not see the signs?Then, he realized. He had seen the signs. He knew the way Dream insisted on blowing up his stuff wasn’t right. He knew that Dream was whispering the same lies that Wilbur had.(Wilbur tried to make Tommy feel alone. Now it was Dream's turn.)
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: All the Kings Men [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053368
Comments: 14
Kudos: 1114
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Try Not to Feel the Cold

_“Tubbo, he’s lying to you man!”_

That wasn’t the first time Wilbur tried to destroy Tommy’s faith in his friends. In the weeks leading up to the day everything literally blew up, Wilbur would say things, whisper them like poison in Tommy’s ear.

“They don’t care about us,” he would say. His voice was soft, but his words were as sharp as knives. “They don’t care about you. I’m the only one. I’m the only one you can trust.”

Tommy refused to believe it, at first. But words could wear down on a person over time. It pained Tommy to see Tubbo following Schlatt around in that suit, acting like the perfect little right-hand man.

Soon, he stopped arguing when Wilbur said, “I’m the only one.”

Tommy started believing it too.

He still didn’t want to blow up L’manberg. He still thought there was a better way. But could he really trust Tubbo? Could he really trust any of them?

And then Techno killed Tubbo in a flash of fireworks. Furious with his older brother, Tommy fought Techno in the pit.

Techno won. Tommy shouldn’t have felt as betrayed as he did. Wilbur warned him about this, after all.

Wilbur said he trusted Tommy. “I’m willing to listen to you,” he had said.

Tommy didn’t catch the lie. He didn’t catch it in time.

They defeated Schlatt. Tubbo was elected president, and Tommy thought everything was going to be okay. Everything was going to be great.

But Wilbur hadn’t trusted Tommy’s judgement. Wilbur refused to be satisfied.

And in the sickening moment everybody realized that Wilbur had gone missing, Tommy screamed for his brother. _Please, don’t do this._

And the world had exploded.

Wilbur had lied. Wilbur had strung Tommy along, convincing him that he cared. Wilbur hadn’t cared about Tommy. All he had cared about was his stupid plan.

Techno helped the chaos. Phil killed Wilbur. Tommy was left with Tubbo.

But the time came when Tubbo betrayed him, and Tommy was stuck. Alone. On an island. With the ghost of his once insane brother and _Dream._

Tommy knew. This wasn’t his first time being exiled. This wasn’t his first time being solely dependent on the one person that would stick with him.

Ghostbur wasn’t always there.

Dream _was_.

But one day while Dream was gone, Ghostbur came to visit. Tommy had been clutching his compass tightly. He stared at the little red arrow pointing to Tubbo.

“Dream lied,” he said tightly.

“Well, we never did like Dream,” Wilbur said reasonably, floating around happily.

Tommy squeezed the compass, letting the smooth edges dig into his skin. Dream had told him that Tubbo had burned the compass. Dream had said that the invitations went out.

Both Phil and Ranboo said they didn’t get their invitations. Ranboo said that Tubbo had accidentally lost the compass.

Tommy knew what Dream was doing. He wished he had caught it sooner.

“Dream’s been using me,” Tommy continued. His voice was more subdued compared to the yelling he might typically do in this situation. “He’s been trying to convince me that he’s the only one who cares.”

“But that’s not true!” Wilbur, _Ghostbur,_ said in alarm, “I care about you. And Tubbo misses you quite a lot! He needed a lot of blue earlier.” Ghostbur pulled some blue dye out of his pockets. “Do you need some blue?”

Tommy took some. He felt so _stupid._ How could he fall for Dream’s lies so easily? How did he not see the signs?

Then, he realized. He _had_ seen the signs. He knew the way Dream insisted on blowing up his stuff wasn’t right. He knew that Dream was whispering the same lies that Wilbur had.

But Tommy had been so lonely that he couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. Anything for a friend. Even now, Tommy was talking about this to _Ghostbur,_ the ghost of his former abuser (once older brother), than to Dream himself.

“I don’t know what I should do,” Tommy whispered, “This is Wilbur all over again, but I’m just so _lonely.”_

“What do you mean?” Ghostbur asked, his voice less chipper than before.

Tommy looked away. Maybe he did deserve to be alone. He couldn’t even keep Ghostbur happy.

“Nothing,” Tommy muttered.

“Tommy… ” Ghostbur’s voice broke. “Did I hurt you? Is that why you were so angry before?”

“No,” Tommy lied, “You didn’t hurt me.”

_He would grab Tommy’s wrists so tightly they bruised, whisper lies like poison, allow insanity to seep into every word he said, every harmful shove._

_“I’m doing this because I care,” he would say._

Wilbur, Ghostbur, began coughing. “I see how you look at me sometimes,” he said between coughs, “You act angry, but you seem scared.” Ghostbur squeezed the blue in his hand. “I don’t like it when you’re scared.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s alright,” Ghostbur said, his voice straining to sound happier, “Maybe… you should just try going somewhere Dream can’t find you.”

“If Dream can’t find me, then no one can,” Tommy said dully, “And if no one can visit me, then what is even the point?”

“I’ll be with you!” Ghostbur said cheerfully, “And I’ll secretly bring Phil and Techno too. We can be lads on tour!”

You know, that didn’t sound like a horrible idea anymore. Maybe a holiday _was_ exactly what Tommy needed. At first the idea of traveling with Techno was revolting to Tommy, but now…

Techno wouldn’t lie to him. Techno wouldn’t try to whisper poison in his ears. Phil wouldn’t lie. Phil would only be warm and comforting.

Tommy was so, _so_ cold.

“Yeah,” Tommy said eventually, “I think I would like that.”

Ghostbur beamed.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any inaccuracies! I'm still somewhat new to the fandom, but I couldn't resist posting this short one-shot. I hope you enjoyed it! :)


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